Danny "Pete" Lugo may have stepped between the ropes merely
five weeks ago, but the Harrisburg fighter is prepped and ready to get back in
there once again.

And now that he's scheduled to fight in his hometown — and
not jabbing and ducking punches in someone else's backyard — the 35-year-old
Lugo is hoping the result is the same as the one he snagged the last time fans
cheered for him.

A knockout would be absolutely splendid.

Right now, however, a win would suffice.

One of a handful of Harrisburg-based fighters on Sunday
night's "Battle In The 'Burg" fight card at the Pennsylvania National Guard's
Harrisburg Military Post, the 147-pound Lugo (2-5-0, 1 knockout) is slated to
meet fellow light middleweight Andre Byrd of Jacksonville, Fla., in a scheduled
four-rounder.

First bell is scheduled for 7:15.

Fighting for the third time in four months, Lugo thrilled
the fans clustered around a downtown Harrisburg ring at July 19's "Judgement
Day" show by stopping Anthony Walls in the opening round with one of his
patented body blows.

So when Lugo bounces back into the ring Sunday night, he'll
be facing yet another crossroads fight in front of a hometown crowd that should
provide plenty of energy. Worked the last time. And it needs to work again.

"That's the thing, Pete has to win this fight," said Ricky
Clark, Lugo's trainer at Capital Punishment Harrisburg Boxing Club.

"I feel good," Lugo said earlier this week during a training
break at CPHBC. "I don't think nothing has changed, besides the opponent."

While there was a strong possibility that "Battle In The 'Burg"
promoter Jason Bryant was going to bring in another fighter and set Byrd up
with CPHBC's Isaiah Varisano — another light middleweight — that swap never
happened.

Regardless of where Byrd (1-0-0) fits on the card — Byrd's
lone professional fight took place 14 months ago when the 29-year-old
outpointed James Gooding in a four-rounder in Jacksonville — Clark is
understandably wary.

"All I know is he's got to be decent for them to take a
trip, come all the way from Florida to come to Harrisburg," Clark said. "He's
got to be decent.

"Sometimes a fighter does that when he can't get fights in
his area. He's gonna go somewhere else where he's not as known. That bothers me
a little bit."

As for Lugo, little bothers him.

At least outwardly.

Nonetheless, he has tried to make some adjustments since his
loss to Wilson. Adjustments intended to have him box more and brawl less.

"Stay on my toes," said Lugo, who sparred four rounds with
the much-smaller Josh Bowles Monday night at The Warehouse. "Stay on my toes.
Try to think ahead of the game. See what I can make him do.

"If I can make him do what I want him to do, then I've got a
50-50 chance of dodging everything, exploding and coming back and putting more
points on the board. Like I said, 'Coach Rick has got me seeing a lot of
stuff.' He just tells me to go in there and throw jabs. Don't get too excited."

Weakened by a heavy cold and/or flu bug that had him
sleeping next to a Nyquil bottle prior to his dustup with Wilson, Lugo's
approach for Byrd would be counter to what happened during his four-round stay
in Connecticut.

"I need to try to avoid a lot of hits," said the 5-9 Lugo,
who spotted Wilson some five inches and plenty of length. "Try to avoid a lot
of hits and see what I can have him do. If I can make him do what I want him to
do, the whole game plan is mine."

"I didn't know anything about him, except he had a good jab
and kept on coming," Lugo said of Walls, who may be on his way to Harrisburg to
fight Rick Pyle.

That fight was in the process of being made late Friday, but
whether that bout was totally locked into the card remained a mystery. If the
Pyle-Walls scrap is on, then Jarrett Robinson will fight Varisano instead of
taking on Pyle.

Regardless, the Lugo-Byrd matchup is set.

And Lugo is hoping to feed off the energy that fighting in
his hometown can provide. He felt it when he confidently approached the ring on
July 19 — and that worked out mighty well — and he'll undoubtedly feel it when it's
his turn to be summoned to the squared circle for his dustup with Byrd.

Danny Lugo, shown working out at Capital Punishment Harrisburg Boxing Club in early July, won by knockout the last time he fought in Harrisburg. After losing the last time out, the 35-year-old is hoping to rebound with another victory Sunday night -- in his hometown.Michael Bullock, PennLive.com

For a guy on the rebound from a difficult result and encountering
yet another crossroads fight, having friends on hand should be a plus.

In the dressing room.

In the seats looking on.

And in the corner.

"No matter what, Pete'll go after you," Clark said. "Pete
has no fear in him whatsoever. Pete's a definitive underdog, a real live Rocky.
This guy doesn't have the ability of some of the other guys, but this guy keeps
coming and coming."